Needle motion



H. J- SMILEY NEEDLE MOTION Nov. 21, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HARRY J. SMILEY Filed March 22, 1960 H- J SMILEY NEEDLE MOTION Nov. 21, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 22, 1960 INVENTOR. HARRY J. SMILEY ATTY.

NEEDLE MOTION Filed March 22, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l #5 S P 1 HF; I I 25 I INVENTOR'. //Z A HARRY J. SMILEY ATTY.

H. J- SMILEY NEEDLE MOTION Nov. 21, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 22, 1960 HARRY J. SMILEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,009,486 Patented Nov. 21, 1961 3,009,486 NEEDLE MOTION Harry J. Smiley, Glasgow, Va, assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 16,804 4 Claims. (Cl. 139123) This invention relates to pile fabric looms and more particularly to an improved needle motion utilized to operate the weft inserting needle into and out of the warp sheds.

As distinguished from a shuttle loom, a needle loom utilizes a long needle to carry the filling or weft through the shed from one selvedge to the other. Generally speaking, needle looms may operate at higher speeds than shuttle looms and do not require stopping the loom to replenish the filling in the shuttles. Also, they are less subject to interruption due to the shuttle jumping out of the shed, the shuttel box, or to improper seating of the shuttle in the shuttle box.

The present invention pertains to an improved driving mechanism for such a weft inserting needle in which the needle movement is carefully controlled with respect to velocity at all times and its size and space requirements are greatly reduced.

A further object of the invention is to provide a needle drive mechanism for needle looms utilizing a walking beam carrying a double scroll sheave which oscillates back and forth on a pair of racks.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved needle drive mechanism in which the velocity of the needle is carefully controlled at all times to permit dwell at one end of the stroke thus providing for the necessary shed changing operations.

j A further object of the invention is to provide a needle drive mechanism for a loom, a double scroll drum mounted on a shaft concentrically with two pinions, a pair of horizontal racks with which the pinions mesh, and suitable driving connections for the drum whereby the d'ITUIl'l and pinions oscillate back and forth over the racks to control the cable wound around the drum and secured to the needle.

Further objects will be apparent fromthe specification and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a part of a pile fabric loom showing the needle motion constructed in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a front view of part of the structure of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the wire drum and racks shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a side view of the structure of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showing the mounting for one of the pulleys over which the cable passes,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 6--6 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is an exploded view showing an adjustable mounting for the rack rails,

FIG. 8 is an enlarged transverse section as seen at 88 of FIG. 4,

FIG. 9 is a section as seen at 99 of FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a section as seen at Ill-10 of FIG. 8,

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 11--11 of FIG. 8,

FIG. 12 is an enlarged detail as seen at 12-12 of FIG. 4, and

FIGS. 1315 are diagrammatic views ofthe double drum and its relative position on the racks during selected parts of the cycle.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the needle drive mechanism of a pile fabric loom constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a frame assembly 19 which is mounted on posts 20, 21 substantially at right angles to the path of travel of the needle 22. Driving connections for the needle mechanism are achieved thnough the loom shaft 23 which is extended to terminate in a crank 24 between and in line with the posts 29, 21. However, the precise angle and location of the posts 20, 21 is immaterial insofar as the needle itself is concerned and the needle motion velocity control mechanism may therefore be located parallel with the needle or in any other position on the mill floor to which suitable driving and timing connections to the loom can be established.

The needle 22 oscillates horizontally in a sheath or guide 25 to carry the weft or filling yarns into the shed of a fabric F being woven. The warp yarns of the fabric are shown schematically at 26 in FIGURES l and 6, the fell of the fabric at 27, and the finished fabric at 28. The needle guide 25 is supported at one end by means of a bracket 30 and at the other by means of a bracket 31 (FIG. 6). Suitable loo-m frame members 32 and 3-3 are utilized to carry the needle and its associated structure. Control of the needle movement is accomplished by means of a needle block 35 secured to the outboard end of the needle and movable in a horizontal slot 36 in the guide 25. The needle is controlled by two cables 37 and 38, one end of each cable being anchored in the block 35. The retracting cable 37 is trained over a sheave 40, thence around a sheave 41 journaled on an adjustable angle member 42, and bracket 43 welded to support 20 (FIG. 4). From thence cable 37 passes around a floating sheave 44 which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 45 (FIG. 5). The saddle 46 for sheave 44 is free to turn pivotally in bracket 45 on bearing 47 to which it is secured by means of lock nuts 48. The bracket 45 is also free to slide axially on shaft 50 as well as to rotate around the center of shaft 50. For this purpose the bracket is secured to a pair of bearing elements 51 and 52 having a series of bearings 53 which permit rotation and sliding of the elements 51 and 52. Shaft 50 is secured in a bracket 55 by means of collars 56, 56 and set screws 57, 57. The bracket 55 is in turn secured to support 21 through angle 58. The provision described above in connection with the mounting of sheave 44 is important in that it provides ample freedom of movement of the sheave in the desired directions which are induced by the change in position of cable 37 when it is wound and unwound from the double drum 60. As will be seen in FIGURE 8, the cable 37 is anchored in the drum 60 by, means of two capscrews 61, 61.

The advancing cable 38 is carried from needle block 35 over and around sheave 64, then over sheave 65. Both of these sheaves 64 and 65 are journaled on plate 66. From thence the cable 38 is trained around a sheave 67, journaled on frame element 32, and the cable then passes to the opposite side of drum 60 to be anchored by the bolts 68, 68 (FIG. 10).

The double drum 60 carries peripheral grooves 70 for accommodating each of the cables 37 and 38. In order to control the velocity of the needle and to provide a suitable dwell when the needle is retracted, several convolutions of the groove 70 on each side of the drum are formed around a relatively smaller diameter of the drum hub 71. A scroll section 72 and 73 on each side of the drum transfers the cables from the hub diameter to the larger peripheral diameter and vice versa as is shown clearly in FIGS. 9 and 10.

The drum 60 is rigidly keyed to a shaft 74 by means of a key 75. A pair of pinions 76 and 77 are in turn keyed at the termini of shaft 74 by means of keys 78 and 79 respectively. The shaft is journaled in a bifurcated yoke 80 of walking beam 81 as shown in FIG. 8,

and suitable thrust washers 82 and 83 provide an antifriction contact between the ends of hubs 71 and the innerfaces of yoke 80. Pinions 76 and 77 mesh with a pair of racks 85 and 86 which are in turn secured to the rails 87 and '88 by means of bolts 89, 39. Under control of the movement of walking beam 81 the drum travels in a substantially horizontal path across the racks 85 and 86 to wind and unwind the cables 37 and 38 from the periphery of the drum. The rails 87 and 88 are adjustably anchored in supports 20 and 21 by means of saddle blocks 90, 91, 92, and 93 two of which are shown in detail in FIG. 7. The termini of rails 87 and 88 are formed with welded plates 95 and 96 and provided with horizontal slotted apertures 97, 97. The plates 95 and 96 are adjustably anchored in cooperating sockets 98 and 99 which are in turn an integral part of a weldment 10-0 secured to the frame members 20 and 21. Each socket 98 and 99 is provided with four adjusting screws 101, 101 which permit complete control of the lateral positioning of the rails 87 and 88. When the screws 101 have been properly adjusted, each one may be locked with its associated lock nut 102 and then the plates 95 and 96 can be securely bolted through apertures 97, 97; 103, 103. The structure of the elements 90 and 91 is identical to that of 92 and 93 and repetition in connection therewith is therefore unnecessary.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 4, 7, and 8, the mechanism for actuating and controlling the movement of drum 60 will be more fully described. Loom shaft 23 is journaled in a pillow block 105 and is provided with the crank 24 at its outboard end. Crank 24 is connected to the center of walking beam 81 by means of a rod 106 which is adjustable at 107 and can be locked in any adjusted position by means of a lock nut 108. Walking beam 81 is also pinned at 110 to a link 111 which is in turn journaled at 112 in a pedestal 113. A second link 114 is journaled to the walking beam at 115 which is the journal for connecting rod 106. The other end of link 114 is journaled in a pillow block 116 secured to frame member 117 by means of bolt 118. Link 114 is pinned to a shaft 120 in pillow block 116 by means of a pin 121. It will be observed that the distance from the center of shaft 120 to pin 115 is equal to the distance from the center of shaft 115 to the center of shaft 74. This relationship insures that each pinion 76 and 77 constantly remains in mesh with its associated rack 85 and 86 throughout the travel of the drum between the racks. Rotation of shaft 23 imparts a modified simple harmonic motion to the drum as it travels from one end of the racks 85 and 86 to the other. The geometry of the linkage system, particularly the location and length of link 111 and pedestal 113, are designed to provide the preferred velocity curve for the drum 60 during its travel. Also, limited adjustment of the dead center position of crank 24 can be made by means of suitable setscrews 122, 122 and lock nuts 123, 123.

In operation, movement of drum 60 back and forth along the racks 85 and 86 under control of the walking beam 81 produces the correct timing and controlled velocity for the insertion of needle 22 into the fabric. Furthermore, the use of the rack and pinion driving elements for drum 60 permits much greater needle travel than would otherwise be possible except for the use of a drum having far greater diameter and therefore far greater inertia forces to be overcome. The importance of this advantage will be appreciated when it will be understood that the present needle motion can be employed on carpet looms capable of producing carpet 18 feet in width. With the drum 60 in the position shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, cable 37 is wound around one side of the drum, both in the hub portion 71, the scroll portion 73, and the peripheral grooves 70. Cable 38, however, is paid out and is trained over a small portion of the hub of the drum as shown in FIG. 10 because the needle 22 is fully withdrawn or retracted from the warp shed. As the s drum is urged to the right, as seen in FIGURE 4, it immediately rotates in a clockwise direction due to the action of pinions 76 and 77. This rotation of the drum slowly unwinds cable 37 from its side of the drum 60 and concurrently winds cable 38 around the hub of its side of the drum. The rate of winding and unwinding of the two cables from the drum is at all times equal.

The needle then moves towards the warp shed but at a slower velocity than would be the case if both cables 37 and 33 were wound around the outer periphery of the drum. However, after several turns which permit sufficient time for changing the sheds, the cables reach the scrolls 72 and 73, whereupon they are immediately transferred to the periphery of the drum and therefore rapidly accelerate the movement of the needle into the shed. When the crank 24 is turned the drum is, of course, at the opposite end of racks 85 and 86. In this position both cables 37 and 38 extend tangentially from the periphery of drum 60 but in opposite directions. This is shown to the right in FIGURE 13. Upon reversal of the direction of the drum (that is from right to left in FIG. 4) cable 37 winds rapidly and cable 38 unwinds rapidly thus withdrawing the needle from the shed at high velocity. However, since a change of direction is involved, the velocity of the drum cables and needle must pass through 0 at the reversing position. This transition, however, is made rapidly since the cables are operating from the larger drum periphery. As the needle is thus quickly retracted from the shed, the point is reached at which the cables are transferred from the outer diameter to the hub diameter which, of course, occurs after the tip of the needle 22 has been removed from the warp sheds. This transfer of the cables im mediately decelerates the needle velocity from the peripheral velocity to hub velocity. Further deceleration, of course, is provided by the crank 24 as it approaches the opposite dead center position before reversal of direction.

FIGURE 13 shows the two extreme moved positions of drum 60 and illustrates the variation in travel path of the cable in a horizontal plane thus indicating the importance of the floating mount for pulley 44. FIGURE 14 is a schematic view which shows the comparison between the linear positions of the drum 60 on the whole racks when the cable is operating from either the hub diameter or the peripheral diameter of the drum and also during the time that the cable is being transferred from one drum diameter to the other. In the low velocity dead center position, the drum is centered at 150. The center of the drum moves horizontally to a point shown at 151 with the cable operating in the hub grooves. The drum travels horizontally from point 151 to point 152 during the transfer of the cable from the hub to the periphery. From point 152 to 153 the cable is operating at high velocity from the periphery and until the drum returns to station 152 when the sequence reverses. The comparison between the tilting of pulley 44 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 shows how the floating mounting of this pulley compensates additionally for the change in elevation of the cables 37 and 38. Since the cables during one period of the cycle operate from the drum periphery and during another period of the cycle they operate from the hub periphery, this change in elevation requires a floating mount for pulley 44- which is the pulley located nearest to the drum.

It will thus be understood that I have provided an extremely efficient needle motion for a fabric loom. The use of a double rack and pinion is important in eliminating the necessity for greater cable length, larger drum diameter, greater inertia forces, and greater space requirements. The device is flexible insofar as its installation on the loom is concerned and may be mounted at right angles to the path of needle travel as shown or may, if desired, be mounted parallel thereto. Provided a suitable driving connection for the drum is present, any intermediate angular mounting may also be employed. The mounting of the pulleys, particularly pulley 44', cooperates to reduce the length of cable and space required.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A needle motion for a fabric loom comprising a reciprocating needle for carrying wefts into the shed of a fabric being woven, a guide for said needle, a retracting cable anchored at one end to the outboard end of the needle, an advancing cable anchored at one end to the outboard end of the needle, a cable drum having a small diameter periphery and a relatively larger diameter periphery for each of said cables, means for anchoring the other end of each cable to said drum, means for transferring each of said cables to and from its associated small and large diameter drum peripheries, a shaft keyed to said drum, a pinion keyed to each end of said shaft, a rack positioned to mesh with each of said pinions, a framework for supporting said racks, a walking beam for oscillating the drum and pinions along said racks whereby the needle is alternately retracted and advanced into the fabric shed by means of the said retracting and advancing cables, at driving connection for said walking beam, and a plurality of sheaves for guiding the cables from the needle to opposite sides of said drum.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 having a plurality of links connected to the walking beam for maintaining the meshing relationship between the pinions and the racks.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which at least one of the sheaves is provided with a floating mount permitting the sheave both linear and rotational movement.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the framework is provided with adjusting means for the racks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,258,191 Payne Oct. 7, 1941 2,890,725 Brannock June 16, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,301 Great Britain of 1908 

